They were best friends for 20 years—until one decided to kill.
“It wasn’t just a murder,” former reporter Stephen Price explained in Oxygen’s A Plan to Kill. “It was a blueprint for the ultimate act of betrayal.”
The death of Lula Young—a mother and one-time paramedic—sent shockwaves through the community of Horn Lake, Mississippi, but no one could have predicted the surprising culprit behind the carefully-plotted murder.
Who Was Lula Young?
Lula was known to others for her happy spirit, even as she divorced her high school sweetheart in 1981 and later battled breast cancer and leukemia.
Her son Michael Young remembered, “She worked hard to provide what she could for me and my sister.”
As Lula dealt with the health challenges, Lula’s neighbor and best friend Linda Leedom was a constant presence in her life, buying her groceries and offering frequent support.
“They would go out to lunch, to the flea markets, things of that nature,” Michael said. “She had been my mom's best friend for 20 years.”
As he recalled, his mom was “gonna beat cancer or die trying.”
What Happened to Lula Young?
But Lula’s life came to an unexpected end on Dec. 19, 1994 when a deadly blaze broke out inside her home as she slept.
Firefighters were called to the scene just after 6 a.m. and rushed inside after learning from Linda that Lula was still inside a back bedroom of the property.
“As we entered the room you could see the fire coming through the top of the door and we could feel the heat,” former Horn Lake firefighter Rodney Burgin recalled. “So we started crawling, looking for Lula. We looked around the bed and found her between the bed and the wall.”
As the firefighters worked to get Lula out of the house, another loud blast shook the property. By the time they made it outside, the house was destroyed and Lula was dead, having succumbed to smoke inhalation.
RELATED: Wealthy Art Dealer’s Craigslist Search for Love Ends in “Diabolical” Con, Shocking Murder
Investigators Suspect Arson After Discovering Clues at Lula Young’s HomeAfter hearing the news from Linda, Michael and Lula’s brother Randy Welch cut their hunting trip short and rushed back to the house.
“We left and probably drove the better of 100 (mph) all the way home,” Michael remembered. “When I pulled in, I’m just in shock. The house that I grew up in was gone.”
Fire investigators immediately discovered some red flags at the scene. A space heater had been placed near the front door of the home and a propane tank with a slightly open valve was found nearby against a wall—even though Michael insisted neither had been there just days earlier.
“Why would Lula, who worked for EMS with the fire department, have a propane tank with a valve open in a room next to a heater,” former Horn Lake Police patrol officer Chris Shelby asked. “At this point, investigators are looking at the possibility that Lula’s house fire was set intentionally.”
Adding to their suspicions, the medical examiner discovered sleeping pills in Lula’s system, even though Michael didn’t believe his mom ever took the pills.
“I had been a fireman for almost eight years,” he said. “I knew enough to know that something wasn’t right.”
RELATED: A Potato Silencer & Stolen School Money: Inside Principal’s Plot to Kill Pregnant Girlfriend
Shocking Insurance Fraud is Uncovered Still, they didn’t have any evidence to prove it hadn’t simply been a tragic accident, until they received an unexpected call from a woman on Jan. 2, 1995 insisting that she’d just run into Lula at a local shopping center.
The woman worked for Nationwide Insurance and remembered meeting Lula four months earlier to take out a $500,000 life insurance policy after a medical evaluation determined she was a healthy candidate. Immediately, this set off alarm bells for investigators. Not only was Lula dead, but she had been battling significant health problems.
Confused by the account, investigators asked the tipster to look through photos of different woman in Horn Lake around the same age. They were surprised when she identified Linda as the woman who had presented herself to insurance representatives as Lula, even taking the medical examination under the fake name.
“Investigators are shocked,” Sheley recalled. “Linda admits to the insurance fraud, but says that it was Lula’s idea. According to Linda, Lula decided to get the life insurance policy and put Linda as the beneficiary so that if and when she died, Linda will use the money to take care of Linda’s family.”
Linda insisted she had nothing to do with setting the fire and had a solid alibi for the time of the blaze.
RELATED: A $150K Loan & Body in a Freezer: How a Couple's Disappearance Unraveled a Shocking Betrayal
The FBI and Postal Inspector began an investigation into the fraud, ultimately finding that Linda had taken out nearly $1 million in various policies on Lula’s life, beginning two years before her death.
Linda Leedam Goes on Spending Spree With Insurance MoneyInvestigators also spoke with Michael, who insisted his mother had only reported having a $10,000 life insurance policy. He also told authorities that Linda had never given him any of the proceeds from the policies as she’d claimed she was planning to do.
“In further investigating the case and digging through Linda's financial records,” private investigator Tamara Thompson said, “it was found that Linda had gone on a spending spree.”
Authorities found purchases for cars, homes and other lavish items in the wake of her friend’s death.
“At this point, we know Linda Leedam is the only person with motive and she got a huge dollar amount motive,” Sheley said, “which raised the question was Linda really capable of killing Lula?”
As investigators were still trying to piece together the murder, Linda was indicted on federal charges of insurance fraud and mail fraud. She pled guilty and was ordered to pay back the money to the insurance company and was placed on probation.
Charles Wayne Dunn Emerges as a Suspect in Lula Young’s DeathMeanwhile, investigators got another unexpected break in the case in February 1997 when David Vincent, a jail informant and acquaintance of Lula and Linda, came forward claiming to know who killed the EMT.
RELATED: New Mom Vanishes With Baby as Investigation Leads to Best Friend’s Shocking Betrayal
Vincent told authorities that Charles Wayne Dunn had confided in him that he’d killed Lula in a house fire for Linda. Sheley arranged for Vincent to meet up with Dunn in a parole office, while wearing a wire. During the conversation, Vincent mentioned he was thinking of killing someone, but remembered that Dunn had always felt guilty about taking Lula’s life.
“He didn't deny it,” Sheley said. “He didn't say, ‘What are you talking about? I didn't ever tell you I did any of that.’ His response affirmed that he had indeed had that conversation with David in the past.”
Investigators went to speak to Dunn, who immediately confessed to setting the fire in exchange for $5,000. To make the death look like an accident, Linda asked Lula to store the propane tank in her house because it was going to be a Christmas gift for one of her children.
Then, on Dec. 18, 1994, Dunn—who had also been friends with Lula—went to Lula’s house and they shared some tea. He slipped the sleeping pills into her tea, then after she fell asleep, he brought in the portable heater, turned it on, placed some newspapers in front of it, opened the valve on the propane tank and left.
“A few hours later,” Sheley said, “the heater ignited the paper and caused the explosion.”
During a search of Linda’s house, investigators discovered she’d also taken a life insurance policy out on Robert Stovall, a 44-year-old disabled man living in Tennessee who her mother had once cared for. Dunn told investigators that Linda had also approached him about killing Stovall, but he got arrested on another charge and never got around to killing the man.
Dunn was arrested for capital murder and arson. Linda was also taken into custody in March of 1997 on charges of capital murder and conspiracy to commit capital murder, arson and three counts of fraud.
RELATED: Obsessive Ex Guns Down Teacher’s New Fiancé After Stalking Couple for Months
Upon learning of the arrest, Michael said he was furious.
“You were supposed to be my mom’s best friend,” he said. “We treated you like family and now you are going to do my mom in? I found it very disturbing.”
Linda was found guilty of capital murder and conspiracy to commit capital murder in August of 1999. She was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole, plus 20 years. She died in prison in 2023.
Dunn pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit capital murder and was sentenced to life in prison.
